Career
Hill was with Touche Ross from 1981 to 1987 [1] and spent some twenty years working in finance and venture capital in London. In 2001, he returned to Masham to take over from his father the management of the Clifton and Jervaulx estates. [3] In 2003 he succeeded his father as Marquess of Downshire and inherited the estates. [1]
In May 2011, Downshire launched an annual Northern grassland event at Clifton Castle Farms. He was then making 3,000 tonnes of silage a year. [4] In 2014 he was farming some 700 acres of the Clifton Castle estate in hand. Some 250 acres were arable, growing mainly wheat, barley and oats. He had by then given up on a large dairying operation, which had proved to need too much new investment, but had diversified by creating biomass boilers and a hydro-electric power scheme. As well as quarrying and forestry interests, and ten tenanted farms on the two estates, Downshire also owned the Blue Lion pub at East Witton, named as "best dining inn" in the Good Pub Guide for 2014. [3]
In March 2014 Downshire became chairman of the Country Landowners' Association in Yorkshire and also joined the policy committee of the national organization. He commented to The Yorkshire Post "Estate owning is a long-term business, and any decision I make is trying to look fifty years forward, rather than a few months." [3]
He has been a member of the board of the Moorland Association since it was formed in 2014 and was its Chairman for three years. [5] In 2018 he became a member of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster [6] and was still a member in 2023. [7]
In 2023, a new boutique guest house called Arthur's was opened in Hillsborough, in honour of Downshire. [8]
Personal life
Downshire married Diana Jane Bunting, daughter of Gerald Leeson Bunting, a solicitor, of Otterington House, Northallerton, and they have four children, three daughters and a son. [1] Their daughter Lady Georgina Anderson is a chef in Harrogate [9] and their son Edmund Robin Arthur Hill, Earl of Hillsborough (born 1996) is heir apparent. [1]
The family lives mostly at Clifton Castle. [3]
In 2013, Downshire inherited another peerage, that of Baron Sandys, from a distant cousin, Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys. [6] [1]
In June 2022 the Downshires opened the grounds of the castle as part of the National Garden Scheme in Wensleydale. [10]
Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire,, known as The 2nd Viscount Hillsborough from 1742 to 1751 and as The 1st Earl of Hillsborough from 1751 to 1789, was a British politician of the Georgian era.
Marquess of Downshire is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough, a former Secretary of State.
Marquess of Headfort is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Thomas Taylour, 2nd Earl of Bective.
Baron Sandys is a title that has been created three times, once in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Baron Trevor is a title that has been created three times. It was created first in 1662 in the Peerage of Ireland along with the viscountcy of Dungannon. For information on this creation, which became extinct in 1706, see Viscount Dungannon.
Royal Hillsborough, more commonly known simply as Hillsborough, is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland, 19 km (12 mi) from the city of Belfast. It is within the Lisburn and Castlereagh District Council area. The village is noted for its Georgian architecture. It is home to Hillsborough Castle, the British royal family's official residence in Northern Ireland, and residence of the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Easthampstead Park is a Victorian mansion in the civil parish of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire. It is now a conference centre.
Baron Stawell was a title that was created twice in British history. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1683 when Colonel Ralph Stawell was made Baron Stawell, of Somerton in the County of Somerset. The title became extinct on the death of the fourth Baron in 1755. The Honourable Mary, daughter of the fourth Baron, married the prominent politician the Honourable Henry Bilson-Legge, fourth son of William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth. She inherited the Stawell estates and in 1760 the barony held by her father was revived when she was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Baroness Stawell, of Somerton in the County of Somerset, with remainder to her sons by her first husband. In 1768 Lady Stawell married as her second husband Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough. She was succeeded by her only son, the second Baron. He had no male issue and the barony became extinct on his death in 1820.
Viscount Dungannon is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1662 when Marcus Trevor was made Baron Trevor, of Rostrevor in the County of Down, and Viscount Dungannon. These titles became extinct on the death of the third Viscount in 1706.
Arthur Robin Ian Hill, 8th Marquess of Downshire, known as Robin Hill, was an Irish peer and the Hereditary Constable of Hillsborough Fort. He was the only son of Lord Arthur Francis Hill and Ishabel Wilhelmina Sheila MacDougall. He successfully re-established his Ulster-based landowning family in North Yorkshire following the Irish Land Acts and the creation of Bracknell New Town, which had largely deprived him of his original estates.
Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire KP was an Anglo-Irish peer, styled Viscount Fairford from 1789 until 1793 and Earl of Hillsborough from 1793 to 1801.
Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, 4th Marquess of Downshire KP was an Irish peer, styled Earl of Hillsborough until 1845.
Clifton-on-Yore is a civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish was estimated at 40 in 2010. The population remained less than 100 as taken at the 2011 Census. Details were included in the civil parish of Thirn.
Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon, was an Irish politician.
Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire PC, FRS, styled Viscount Fairford until 1789 and Earl of Hillsborough from 1789 to 1793, was a British peer and MP.
The Custos Rotulorum of Londonderry and Down was the highest civil officer in counties Londonderry and Down.
Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbull Blundell Hill, 6th Marquess of Downshire was an Irish peer, styled Earl of Hillsborough until 31 March 1874. He lived chiefly at the family seat, Easthampstead Park, within 5,000 acres in Berkshire. The marquess also owned 115,000 acres in Hillsborough, County Down, and land in Wicklow and Kildare.
Arthur Wills Blundell Trumbull Sandys Roden Hill, 5th Marquess of Downshire, was an Irish peer, styled Earl of Hillsborough until 1868. He became Marquess of Downshire in 1868 on the death of his father. He lived at the family seat of Easthampstead Park, within 5,000 acres in Berkshire, and Hillsborough Castle, within 115,000 acres in Hillsborough, County Down.
Arthur Wills Percy Wellington Blundell Trumbull Hill, 7th Marquess of Downshire was an Irish peer. He lived chiefly at the family seat, Easthampstead Park within 5,000 acres in Berkshire, until the estate was sold to Berkshire County Council after the Second World War. Up to the 1920s he was the last Marquess to have connection with the family mansion with its 115,000 acres of estate in Hillsborough, County Down.
Mary Hill, Marchioness of Downshire and suo jure1st Baroness Sandys, was a British peeress.
